A/N: My muse has taken a vacation which left me blankly staring at the white wall. I called long-distance and this was what she whispered in my ear.

Stupid.

This was how Izzie felt. She felt so stupid and humiliated at the same time. She wanted to bang her head against the wall to forget what happened last night. It was her fault actually for letting herself trust that man, for allowing herself to be placed in that situation, for letting someone become close to her. It was the same stupid pattern all over again. It was her fault and she blames herself for it.

Despite the success in being able to rise above her family situation and become a physician, Izzie always felt that people only see her face, her body. She was the hot blonde cheerleader whom guys drooled after. People never cared that she also had the brains to match her renowned beauty. In fact, she secretly abhorred being called beautiful. She longed for someone to appreciate her for who she really is.

But right now, she feels stupid. How could she ever think that Mark Sloan was the most maligned, misunderstood person in the planet, that he really cares about his patients, and that he really has any remnant of humanity in him? She could picture just now an ugly amphibian head replacing Mark's handsome face. She laughed bitterly. But she knew the answer. She wanted Mark to care, to notice that she's not like the rest of the girls he slept with, that she's special.

What the fuck. She had fallen for the biggest asshole in Seattle, recently relocated from New York. She was in love. And it's hurting her.

Way to go, Sloan, he thought as he slowly massaged his temples. God, I haven't felt this stupid for such a long time. She must think I'm desperate. He let out a deep sigh.

He wanted to butt his head on the wall when he blurted out loud his thoughts about Karev to Izzie. He didn't want to sound jealous or possessive. It might scare Izzie away. Honestly, he was getting scared himself. No woman has gotten under his skin like this one did. And he didn't know what to do about it. He was behaving like a high school geek in love for the first time.

He knew they were friends, then became lovers, and then became friends again. But he knew that platonic relationships do not exist between the opposite sex, or at least rarely stays platonic. He instinctively cracked his knuckles. Mark had wanted the satisfaction of slamming his two-million-dollar-insured fist into Karev's smug face.

Several questions were revolving around his head. Was Izzie jealous that Karev is with Addison now? She froze when she heard Addison's name. Could it be that it was the reason why Izzie abruptly left? Why am I always the rebound guy, he thought glumly.

How much he tried to deny it to himself, the truth was out. Mark Sloan had finally fallen in love.

It was an ordinary day. Mark hasn't seen Izzie the whole day. He kept seeing dagger looks from all the nurses he flirted with and hushed murmurs of 'another attending involved with an intern.' He rolled his eyes, he was so used to all the hospital crap.

With chart in hand, he rounded the corner and collided with the one person he'd been looking for the whole day.

Izzie bounced off when she hit Mark and landed squarely on her butt. Wincing more from humiliation than from actual pain, she ignored Mark's outstretched hand and picked herself up. "I'm okay." Izzie tried to avoid eye contact and moved to pass Mark but was blocked once again by Mark's tall frame.

Mark frowned and crossed his arms, as if he had no intention to let her pass. "Are you avoiding me?" He looked at her, still refusing to look him in the eye.

Izzie laughed self-consciously, looking at a couple of eavesdropping nurses. "Why would I be avoiding you, Dr. Sloan? I was just at the clinic, helping out."

He breathed a sigh of relief then smiled. "You're not on duty tonight and you're also not on call," Mark stated. He had earlier downloaded Izzie's duty schedule in his Dopod and had marked all the days she was available. "Let's have dinner at this seafood restaurant nearby. They serve fantastic lobster thermidor. Would 8pm be okay?"

Izzie gaped at Mark and pointed at herself. "You're asking me out on a date?"

Frowning, Mark opened his mouth then shut it and then opened it again. "Yes, I am asking you out." He uncrossed his arms and then crossed them again. "Have you already made plans for tonight?"

Izzie could see Mark's jaw reflexively clenching. She couldn't believe it! Izzie grinned and decided to play coy. She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. I was just planning to watch a movie at home with either George or Alex. Yeah, sure. 8pm is fine."

Mark nodded, placing his surgical cap and mask on. "Okay, I'll pick you up at your place." As soon as he turned around and walked away briskly, Mark was grinning from ear-to-ear under his mask.

Izzie placed the chart back at the station. She found Alex there, checking on some charts. Izzie placed an arm around his shoulders, her cheeks still pink from blushing furiously just after Mark left. "I have a date tonight," she said in a sing-song voice and wiggling her eyebrows.

Placing his arm around Izzie's shoulders too, Alex gave her one of his trademark lopsided smile. "Good for you, Stevens." Like a couple of bestfriends, they stood like that for a moment then left in opposite directions.

Addison saw Mark pass by the office, his eyes all crinkled up. Either he had just flirted with someone or he's in the process of doing so, she thought. "Mark," she called out from the open door.

Mark headed back to the office and took off his mask. He really was grinning!

Addison smirked. She had missed being Mark's bestfriend ever since the dastardly deed happened between the two of them. Next to Derek, she could not only finish Mark's sentences for him but can also read his body language. Now, Mark reeks definitely of a woman. She leaned on the door frame. "You have a secret. I can tell. And it's about a woman. A hot blonde young doctor."

"It's not a secret, Addie," Mark replied. "It's out in the open. I'm definitely going out with Izzie." Seeing Addison's look of surprise, Mark divulged further. "I asked her out on a date tonight. A real, honest-to-goodness date tonight."

Addison placed an arm on her hip. "Better be careful, Mark. She's not like the rest. Izzie Stevens has gone through a lot in one year. Her fiancé died and she had just gotten off probation. I like her. She's smart, sincere, hard-working, and cares for her patients. Izzie is loyal," Addison emphasized. "Guard her heart."

Mark stopped smiling and became serious. "I better guard mine." He placed his mask on and walked away.

Addison stood there, dumbfounded by Mark's revelation. "Finally, Mark Sloan has fallen in love."

White? Too prissy.

Black, too boring.

Red? Not if I wanted to keep my panties on tonight.

Red was really Izzie's best color. That's what the stylists had said so many times in the past while she was still modeling. Wear red and a hundred ships will set sail and wage war for you, the stylist said to her.

Finally, Izzie chose a deep violet, Grecian-style dress made of silk. She placed a gold hammered-cuff bracelet on her bare arm and her favorite Bulgari dangling earrings of pink amethyst, pale yellow tourmaline, and sapphire. Izzie pinned up her hair in a loose chignon and she was set. Nervously, she glanced at the clock for the nth time in five minutes.

Just as she was about to pronounce that Mark was late, the doorbell rang. She took a few deep breaths and went downstairs. Four pairs of eyes were immediately on her.

All of them were on the sofa, waiting for her big date. George whistled. Callie smiled. Meredith stopped munching on popcorn. Derek laughed out loud.

"Sloan's going to have a rough time tonight trying to keep his hands to himself," Derek remarked goodnaturedly.

George scowled and looked at Derek ominously. "He better keep his hands where they belong."

Callie chuckled, giving George a peck on his cheek. "Easy, cowboy. How about keeping your hands where they belong?" She grabbed George's hand and lay down on his lap.

Izzie rolled her eyes at the two lovey-dovey couples and went to open the door.

Mark stood there, handsomely clad in a black suit and blue shirt, holding two dozens of pink cabbage roses of different sizes. Izzie smiled shyly, accepting the flowers Mark handed to her. "Thanks. Everybody's here. They're watching a movie."

My God, she's so beautiful, Mark smiled inwardly. "Hey everybody." He waved at everyone in the living room. "Shall we go?"

Izzie tried to hide the excitement in her voice. "Yes, let's go."

Mark got her hand and placed something in her hand. It was a black scarf. Puzzled, Izzie tried to open her mouth to ask what it was for. "Where we're going is a surprise." He went around Izzie and gently tied the scarf to cover her eyes. Mark then scooped her up in his arms before she could protest. "My goodness, I didn't know you were this heavy. I thought models were supposed to weigh like air."

Izzie laughed, playfully swatting Mark's chest. "I am not heavy!" He smelled of spicy mandarin orange scent. She snuggled in his chest, pretending she felt cold. "I thought we're going to the seafood restaurant nearby?"

"You'll see," was Mark's cryptic response.

I'm so sorry for updating so late! I became so preoccupied from work. Some experiences have left me feeling depressed for quite a while thus no inspiration to work on updating. Will try to update again at the end of the week. Hope you like the story. This chappie's quite slow, I know.